1.) Have you ever seen any references to your work in other media, and if so, what's been your favorite? Another reason I ask is because sometime during or after college, I plan on starting novels, and my first series has a few on-the-nose nods to Bionicle. Would you be ok with that/how careful would I have to be, since Lego still owns the rights to the franchise?

1) No, I haven't.2) Depends on what you're doing. If you're planning to write novels and try to get them published for money, then you can't use any trademarked BIONICLE term without permission from LEGO Company. If what you are talking about is borrowing from plot, that's less a legal issue and more something that may make you look like you are being unoriginal. It depends on how you do it -- there are ways to write and pay tribute to a story you love, and there are ways to write it where it just feels like you are swiping.